Trolley section insulator



Dec, 27 1949 W. J. LEW/E5 TROLLEY SECTION INSULATOR Filed Sept. 12, 1946r 1 n venlor MQEEN d. .LW/S

Patented Dec. 27, 1949 NITE D PATENT o TROISLEY" SECTION INSULATGRWarren. J. Lewis;. Mansfield, Ohio; assigrior to The Ghio: Brass:Gompanm. Mansfield, Ohio, at corporation of-New Jersey ApplicantsSeptember-12, 1946, Serial No. 696,554

other obj ect's and advantagesof the: present invention will be apparentfrom: th chow-mg, description when takentogether-- with theraceompanying drawing in which letter:-

Figure 1 is a side View elevatien and a"- limited section of theinvention.

Figure 2' is a section on the line" 2-4" er Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectionon line-3 4 sincere-1.-

Fi-gure' 4' is-a topplan 'view of 'themsgnetic fuse which ispart ofthe'invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic view of a system a grounded trolley wire.-

Figure 5- is apartiai section on: fine: 6 4 of Figure 1;

In the pref erred embodiment of "the presenting vention the maininsulating member I is provided at each end with a clamp 2"" or othersuitable means for receiving and holding alignii'ient' the adjacentends-of trolley Wires 3"- and l.

Each end of the member I isafiso'" provided" with asupport bracket5"having'aprojectingend with a plain or-threaded'openingf 8 adapted tareceive a support'for the device. 7

Each clamp comprises a pair'of'clamping"mem= bers'l and8. Themember8"is"provic'fed' along its upper edge with an integralftflavboss'which is set into the lowerfaceofthe member I and" provided with athreaded opening to receive the stud. I'I'rto .holdth'e member 8 inplace.

Each member ais' also provided with a: smarter boss II integrallysecured to" thenpp'e'r 'piortlon" of the. member" a" and rests againstthel'ciwer sure face of the" member Iand'like bo'ss.'9isprovided with athreaded opening't'o receive the 'studi I2" to assist in holding the"clamp 2 in place.

The studs It and lzalso" hold the memberfi' in position. v

The clamps 2 are. each" further providd with screws I3 for holding the"clamping" member-s1 19 (Claims (Cl..191.--39).

v and. 8? together and in clamping relation with the;

trolley wires 3 and 4 whicl'imay var themembers I and: fi' arerprovidedwittrcoopeffit ing lips I'-4=- to interengagewith ahgroove: in:

. troileyi wires.

The: clamping. members: 8' are each prdvided with U or yoke shapedmembers IS -l5 ioflfied preferably of copper and? the" members: i= a'iidI I 5 are secured: together by. a weld at If and when possible" it ispreferrd' tovmakeathe members I and 8 ofibronze inp'lace oifmalleab'l'e'irom. found more economical to' weld'tl i parts 8- Mid IS I 5. togetherthanrto fornias oiz casting The-. cIa'mpsZ. are usab'le'at' both ends-ofthe' membf I but in reverse order.

The: legs. cf the? members; li -I5 are held? to the member f by bol ts'I 1;

Ehe member I is aisdprovided s with th cefl tral guide I8- forthe-current collectortazidicons- "sists of spaced" clamps" I'Q eacH.provided with: a

slot 2II't0 receive theguidebar flclamp lfl isi'pi't'ivided with ascrewzz and aboss 2 3 haw ing a; threaded openingto receive? the: stud it: or24'.

the guide bar: 21" has througu elongatedaopem ing 25: to receive thescrews-z 2-: an diwhei'e'by the bar: I msy be'adj'usted vertic'any mera-er t'oellighthe Iowefedge with the l'owei edge cr me OBEY a an'd aThe screwsz 2 willdraw theparts of 'the clamps IB ifito suflicientengagemeii with-z the -bar "l' to holdthe bar i adjustedpesitib' 'lhe'devi'cis shown-as *structedroetn t refit c'dllee'tor to-pass' iror'irthe'ltt to the aghfick vice versa. with the construction thus; fatr de-*scribed as the-collector passes-'f rom wire a oi ontoguide 2 rend breakscontact with the trefi'efi Wire, a vicious arc wiirtak'epmeeat the ehdefthewireif the locoinotit/e drawing current as the guide 2 F is insulatedirom-trclley wires 3" d tion onto the other section thus bridging thegap between the sections. In this case there may or may not be an areformed at the gap.

However if the current collector bridges the gap and one portion of theentering section is grounded (Fig. then a short circuit would occurbetween the leaving and the entering section resulting'in an enormousflow of current especially if the break occurs at a point near the powerstation.

With this latter hazzard in mind the present invention is proposed toeliminate such hazard quickly and with as little danger as possible.Therefore the connection 30 referred to above connecting the guide 2| tothe trolley wire 3 is of special construction to function to preventharm to any part of the system.

The connection 30 comprises a pair of oppositely disposed parallelmembers 3| of magnetiza'ble metal provided on their inner faces withinsulating members 32 of fiber or other suitable material to resistburning.

-The members 3| and 32 are held in spaced relation by a pair ofmagnetizable members 33 forming headed cores for energizing coils 34.Insulation 35 is interposed between each core 33 and its coil 34.

I One end of each coil is positioned at the longitudinal and transversecenter of the space between the magnetic poles 3| and their spaced endsare provided with means 35 arranged to receive a fuse 36 therebetween toelectrically connect the coils 34. The means 35 may be of any suitableconstruction to receive and hold the fuse 36.

The other end of one coil 34 is connected to the yoke I5 through themedium of the bolt l1 and the other end of the other coil 34 isconnected'to the guide 2| through the medium of the stud 24 therebysupporting the blow-out 3!).

.The connection 3|] constitutes a magnetic blow-out in which the variousparts are held in assembled relation by the nuts 3'! on the threadedends of the cores 33.

In operation, when a current collector passes onto the guide 2| inpassing from the trolley wire 3, it will draw current for the operationof the locomotive through the coils 34 and fuse 36. This energizes thepoles 3| and magnetic flux passes from one pole to the other polethrough the center of the blow-out where the fuse is located.

The coils are so wound and so connected to each other and to the trolleywire 3 and guide 2| that the flow of magnetic flux will be such as todrive the flame resulting from the are at the fuse 36 horizontallyoutward and away from the insulating member I.

It will be noted that the coils 34 are each so wound that the currentpath is in the same direction around the cores 33, therefore the upperpole (Fig. 1) of cores 33 will be of the same polarity and the lowerpoles will be of the same polarity but opposite to that of the upperpoles and therefore the upper member or pole piece 3| will be ofopposite polarity to that of the lower member or pole piece 3|, andsince the construction of device 30 constitutes an electromagneticcircuit, the poles set up in the members 3| are termed consequent polesas such poles occur at points in the magnetic circuit between twomagnetizing coils 34, having magneto-motive forces in oppositedirections.

In the present device it is proposed to use a piece of copper wire forthe fuse 36 in place of the conventional enclosed or cartridge fuse 4 assuch wire is always available about a mine and the terminals at the endsof the coils are arranged for such and not for the enclosed fuses.

A cartridge fuse may explode on a short circuit with injury to anoperator also an exposed piece of copper wire rapidly dissipates anyheat therein. The enclosed fuse being better adapted to over-loads thanto short circuits.

As a rule the current drawn by a locomotive through the fuse 35 incrossing the insulator will be for only a very short time thus makingthe use of a small size copper wire entirel practical for carrying fullload currents of the locomotive and blowing when subjected to shortcircuit currents.

In Figure 5 is shown schematically how the device operates in case ofshort circuit on a section of trolley wire 4 which has broken and oneend fallen and grounded at .r. The generator G feeds current to theoverhead trolley through feeder F and to the rail R and when thecollector connects 2| and 4 a short circuit current flows through thecoils 34 and fuse 36 whereby unidirectional magnetic flux is set up andacts on the arc formed by the blowing of the fuse, thereby forcing thearc and flame horizontally outward and extinguishing the same before anydamage may result to the insulator or even openin the circuit breakersat the power station. A switch S controls energization of the trolley 4.

Also if the locomotive were passing the insulator from right to left andtrolley wire 3 were grounded as in the case of trolley wire 4 in Fig. 5,then the coils 34 would be energized and the fuse 36 blow as soon as thecurrent collector engaged the guide or runner 2|, therefore the deviceis operable with the locomotive moving in either direction relativethereto. The two gaps 40 are essential in the operation of the presentinvention.

If desired the uni-directional flux may be produced by a singleelectro-magnetic device 30 or even by a permanent magnetic means.

An enclosed fuse may be used in place of the fusible wire 36 but thewire is preferred as pointed out above.

The construction of the blow-out 30 is simple and simply supported andopen to quick inspection and is inexpensive but other means ofsupporting the blow-out may be found more satisfactory.

While a description of a preferred construction of the present inventionhas been disclosed, what is claimed and desired to be secured by LettersPatent is:

l. A section insulator for a trolley system comprising, an insulatingbeam, an end member at each end of the beam and arranged to receive andhold the adjacent ends of a trolley wire in spaced alignment with thelower surface of the trolley wire exposed where held by the end member,intermediate means spaced from the end members in end-to-end relationthereto, the intermediate means provided with a guiding member ofcurrent conducting material having its lower edge engageable by acurrent collector to guide the collector from one wire on to the otherwire and having a vertical slot at each end, fixed means supporting theguiding member from the insulating beam and means cooperating with thesaid fixed supporting means and extending through the said slots wherebythe guiding member may be moved transversely of the insulating member toalign the lower edge of the guiding member with that of the adjacenttrolley wire ends.

2. A trolley section insulator comprising, a central guide of metal fora passing current collector and two end members to receive and hold theadjacent ends of a trolley wire with the lower edge of the wire exposedfor the full length of the end members, insulating means to which thesaid guide and end members are attached, the guide comprising spaced andslotted means secured to the insulating means intermediate the endmembers, a guide member positioned in the slots in spaced and end to endrelation with the end members, the guide member movable in said slotstransversely of the insulating means to align the lower edge of theguide member with that of the trolley wire and means cooperating witheach of the said spaced and slotted means and with the guide member tosecure the guide member in said aligned position and electromagneticallycontrolled means electrically connecting the guide to one of the endmembers.

3. An electro-magnetic blow-out device comprising a pair of spaced[cores of magnetizable metal with parallel axes and spaced pole piecesof magnetizable metal secured to and connecting the ends of the cores oflike polarity, each core provided with an energizing coil, a fuseconnected to one end of each coil between the coils and positionedbetween the consequent poles of opposite polarity and the other end ofthe coils adapted to be connected to a source of current whereby the arcresulting from a blowing of the fuse will be acted upon .by the magneticflux between the pole pieces and the current effecting the blowing ofthe fuse will energize the coils and set up the said magnetic flux.

4. An electro-magnetic blow-out comprising a pair of spaced and parallelpole pieces of magnetizable metal, spaced and parallel electro-magneticmeans positioned between the pole pieces to energize the pole pieces andcreate in the pole pieces poles of opposite polarity when the said meansis energized, a fuse positioned between the pole pieces and subject tothe magnetic flux between the poles when energized, the fuse connectedin series with the electro-magnetic means whereby the fuse andelectro-magnetic means will be subjected to the same current.

5. A section insulator for an overhead trolley system comprising a pairof metallic end members held in spaced relation to the under side of anelongated insulating member and the end members arranged to receive andhold the ends of the trolley wire, a, single centnal guide member ofmetal held by the insulating member in aligned and spaced relation tothe end members with a gap between each end member and the guide member,a single electro-magnetic blow-out safety means mounted on a side faceof the insulating member and having consequent poles of oppositepolarity, the safety means including a fuse and a pair of coilsconnected in series, the end members and the guide member and singlesafety means being so constructed, arranged and connected whereby acurrent collector may span the gaps and cross the insulator in eitherdirection without forming an arc at either gap and the single safetymeans will function when the current collector moving in eitherdirection engages the guide member and the current through the singlesafety is in excess of normal operating current.

6. A trolley section insulator comprising a pair of end members of metalheld in spaced relation to the under side of an insulating member andthe end members arranged to receive and hold the ends of a pair oftrolley wires in spaced and insulated relation, a guide member ofmeta1positioned between the end members in spaced relation thereto, thesaid members being so constructed and arranged as to form a gap betweenthe ends of the guide member and the adjacent end of each end member,and 'a single safety means including a fuse electrically connecting theguide to one of the end members and through which all current passes asthe result of a passing current collector in crossing the insulator ineither direction when it engages only the guide member, and magneticmeans having oppositely disposed poles of opposite polarity acting uponthe fuse and so constructed and so arranged relative to the fuse andinsulating member as to blow the are formed by the rupture of the fusesideways with respect to the insulating member to dissipate the are whenthe fuse blows.

7. A section insulator for a trolley system to support and insulate theadjacent ends of a trolley wire comprising, a metal guide member for acurrent collector, two metallic end members each arranged to receive thetrolley wire along its lower edge with the lower edge of the trolleywire exposed, the lower edge of the guide member being alignable withthat of the trolley wire, the end members and the guide member beingspaced in aligned relation forming gaps there between and supported byan insulating beam in said relation, electro-magnetic blow-out safetymeans electrically connecting the guide and one end member, the saidmeans comprising a fuse and coil means connected to both ends of thefuse to dissipate the are formed when the fuse blows, the guide and endmembers and the safety means being so constructed and related that acurrent collector may draw current from the said members throughout itscrossing the insulator under normal operation and the fuse will blow asthe result of excess current drawn by the current collector also wheneither trolley wire is grounded and the collector bridges the gapbetween the guide and the grounded end member.

8. A guide for a current collector for attachment to a section insulatorcomprising, a guide member engageable by a current collector, a supportfor each end of the guide member, the said supports each provided withmeans to secure it to the section insulator and each support having aslot in which is positioned the guide member, the supports provided withtransverse openings, the guide member provided with oblong openingsregistering with the openings in the supports, and securing meansextending through the openings and transversing the slots whereby theguide member may be moved relative to the supports and to the sectioninsulator.

9. A section insulator comprising, two end members secured in spacedrelation to a beam of insulating material and having means to receiveadjacent trolley conductors of different sizes with their lower contactsurfaces in longitudinal alignment, means to secure the end members tothe said beam, an intermediate guide positioned between the end membersand means securing the guide to the said beam in spaced relation to theend members, the guide com-prising support means and a metallic guidebar having an exposed contact surface, means to secure the support meansto the said beam, the guide bar and the support means being soconstructed and arranged that the guide bar may be moved transversely 7relative to the guide bar and to the said beam whereby the exposedcontact surface of the guide member may be brought into longitudinalalignment with the contact surface of the trolley conductors.

10. A guide for a current collector adapted to be secured to a sectioninsulator comprising, slotted support means provided with transverseopenings the axis of which openings is normal to the plane of the slotin the support means, a metallic guide member engageable by a currentcollector and positioned in the slot and provided with transverseopenings registering with the openings in the support means, securingmeans extending through the openings to secure the guide member to thesupport means, the support means and the guide member and the securingmeans being so constructed and arranged relative to each other that theguide member may be adjusted relative to the section insulator and meansto secure the support means to the section insulator.

11. An electro-magnetic blow-out device comprising a pair of spaced andparallel elongated members of magnetic material with electro-magneticmeans at each end of the members holding the members in said relationand when the said means is energized producing thereby a pair ofoppositely disposed consequent poles of opposite polarity whereby auni-directional magnetic field is produced between the elongatedmembers, a fuse p sitioned between the elongated members in the path ofthe magnetic fiux and connected in circuit with the coils of theelectro-magnetic means whereby an are formed by the rupture of the fusethrough the medium of the current energizing the electro-magnetic meanswill be dissipated by a motion of force parallel to the planes of theelongated members.

12. A trolley system comprising a trolley wire having adjacent ends, asection insulator secured 4 to the said adjacent ends of the trolleyWire, the section insulator comprising a metallic central guide memberand a pair of metallic end members positioned in spaced and alignedrelation to each other and secured to an insulating member whereby acurrent collector may cross the insulator and be in contact with eitherone or more of the said metallic members during its crossing theinsulator, and conducting means including a fuse electrically connectingthe central guide member to one of the end members whereby the currentcollector will receive current during its entire crossing of theinsulator and no arcing will occur between guide members, and magneticmeans to control an are formed by the rupture of the fuse while thecollector is crossing the insulator by subjecting the fuse touni-directional magnetic flux thereby dissipating the are.

13. A section insulator comprising an elongated body member ofinsulating material, a pair of spaced end guide members secured to thebody member at its ends and each guide member adopted to receive andhold an end of a trolley wire, a central guide member positioned betweenthe said end guide members and secured to the body member in spaced andaligned relation to the end guide members and forming air gapstherebetween, conducting means electrically connecting the central guidemember to one of the end guide members, the said conducting meanscomprising a fuse, bipolar magnetic means to control the are formed bythe blowing of the fuse, the-said guide members and fuse and magneticmeans being so constructed, arranged and related with respect to eachother that a current collector will be supplied with current whilecross' ing the insulator without arcing at the gaps and will eflectenergization of the said conducting means when the collector contactsthe central guide member whereby the fuse will be ruptured when thecurrent through the fuse exceeds a predetermined value and the areformed by the blowing of the fuse will be acted upon by the magneticflux of the said magnetic means and the flame of the arc directed awayfrom the body member and dissipated.

14. A section insulator comprising, a central guide of metal for apassing current collector and two end members to receive and hold theadjacent ends of a trolley Wire to guide the current collector ofi andon to the central guide, insulating means to which the said guide andend members are attached, the guide positioned between the end membersin spaced and end-to-end relation with the adjacent ends of the endmembers, electrical conducting means including fusible means connectingthe guide and one of the end members, magnetic means having a pair ofconsequent poles of opposite polarity between which a uni-directionalmagnetic flux flows, the said magnetic means being so constructed andrelated to the fuse that the magnetic flux will extend transversely ofthe fusible means whereby any flame of the arc formed by the blowing ofthe fusible means will be dissipated and in a direction at right anglesto the direction of flow of the magnetic flux.

15. In a section insulator, in combination, a body member of insulatingmaterial, three guide members arranged in spaced and longitudinallyaligned relation and secured to the body member to guide a currentcollector in crossing the insulator, conducting means comprising a pairof pole pieces of magnetizable metal and an electro- 0 magnet being sowound that the current path is in the same direction around the coreshence the flux set up by the electro-magnets when energized will opposeeach other and the flux will pass along the air gap between the polepieces, one end of each coil connected to the central guide member andto one of the other guide members respectively and a fuse interposed inthe conducting means and connected to the other ends of the coils, thefuse positioned in the air gap where any arc formed by the rupture ofthe fuse will be acted upon by the flux between the pole pieces.

16. A section insulator for a trolley system comprising an insulatingbeam with an end member at each end of the beam and each member providedwith means to receive and hold the ends of a trolley wire in spacedalignment with the lower surface of the trolley wire exposed, inter-'mediate means in end-to-end spaced relation to the end members, theintermediate member provided with a metallic guide member having itslower edge engageable by a current collector, means supporting the guidemember from the insulating beam, means on the supporting meanscooperating with means on the guide member whereby the guide member maybe aligned transversely of the beam with the trolley wires, meanselectrically connecting the guide member and its supporting means withone of the end members, the next to last said means comprising a shortconductor including a fuse in series therewith and electro-magneticmeans in series with the fuse and provided with oppositely disposedmagnetic poles of opposite polarity which are so positioned and relatedto the fuse that the fuse will 9 be subjected to a uni-directionalmagnetic field whenever the guide member is engaged by a passing currentcollector drawing current, and any are created when the fuse is blownwhen the current drawn exceeds a predetermined value will beextinguished by the magnetic field.

17. A trolley section insulator comprising, a metal guide member for acurrent collector and two metal end members for connection to adjacentends of a trolley wire, the three members held in insulated spaced andaligned end to end relation by a single insulating means,electromagnetic blow-out safety means connected across the gap betweenthe guide member and one end member, the said safety means comprising apair of spaced coils with axes parallel to the side face of theinsulating means and one end of each coil connected by a fuse, the otherend of the coils connected respectively to the guide and to the said oneend member forming the said gap whereby the coils are energized when apassing current collector engages the guide member, a core ofmagnetizable metal for each coil and a pair of parallel spaced bars ofmagnetizable metal connecting the ends of the poles of like polarity toproduce a uni-directional magnetic field at a point intermediate thesaid poles and transversely of the fuse to dissipate an arc in atransverse direction to and away from the said side face of theinsulating means, when such arc is formed by the blowing of the fuse.

18. A trolley section insulator comprising, a metal guide member for acurrent collector and two metallic end members for connection toadjacent ends of a trolley wire, the three members held in spaced end toend relation by insulating means whereby two gaps are formed between themember ends, electro-magnetic blow-out safety means including a fuse andcoils mounted on the side of the insulating means, the coil means andfuse connected to each other and to the guide means on one end member,such that when the guide member is engaged by a current collector on avehicle passing the insulator in either direction and drawing currentfrom the guide, arcing at both gaps will be absent and a unidirectionalmagnetic fiux produced transversely of the fuse and at right angles to aside face of the insulating means whereby any are formed by the blowingof the fuse will be dissipated.

19. An electro-magnetic blow-out safety device having consequent polescomprising a fuse, electro-magnetic means provided with coils connectedin series with the opposite ends of the fuse, a pair of spaced andparallel pole pieces of magnetizable metal secured to the ends of theelectro-magnetic means of like polarity, the pair of pole pieces beingso constructed and so related to each other and to the fuse that aconcentration of the magnetic flux will be produced between the polepieces and transversely of the fuse when the coils of theelectro-magnetic means are energized and thereby dissipate any areformed by the blowing of the fuse, and insulating members interposedbetween the fuse and each pole piece to protect the pieces from the arc.

WARREN J. LEWIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

